Fractional Laser or Dermabrasion for Chin and Upper Lip Lines?

Fractional laser is an amazing and highly effective treatment in our office. We use the laser treatment to help with acne scars, large pores, fine wrinkles, tissue collagen loss, scars, sebaceous hyperplasia, active acne, and for brightening dark pigmentation. Although there are very strong fractional lasers such as CO2 laser, we use lighter treatments for corrective skincare and maintenance of results. Our Thulium fractional laser, clear and brilliant laser, and Ultra Thulium laser are excellent options in our clinic. We also perform CO2 fractional and erbium depending on skin tone and tolerance for downtime. Patients do have to use a Melarase cream before and after treatment to help further reduce pigmentation after laser. Melarase AM, Melarase PM, and Melapads can seriously improve surface sun damage and UV related pigmentation. Dark spots can improve with these treatments. I recommend fractional laser for incisional scars as well, especially after plastic surgery.
Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

This is a difficult question and I'm afraid no one has the definitive answer.
Dermabrasion has the potential to go deeper and be more effective. However, the deeper you go the more risk there is for scarring. In the hands of a skilled surgeon, this is not likely.
Fraxel is depth controlled but I have not been impressed with the wrinkle removal benefits. It does seem to improve surface texture and minor pigmentation irregularities.

The perioral "wrinkles" can be difficult to treat. Depending on the depth of the wrinkles, dermabrasion works the best. One or two treatments can result in significant improvement of the lines.

I use both fractional CO2 and Dermabrasion to treat the veritcal lip lines. In general, Dermabasion will give you a better result for the lines around the mouth, depending on if it is done correctly. Dermabrasion resurfaces the entire area around the lips and goes deep into the skin. Fractional CO2 lasers can go as deep (depending on the laser and laser settings), however they resurface only a small percentage of the skin. This is one of the reasons that a true Dermabrasion is better in treating the lip lines.
On the other hand, there is significantly more healing time and a high risk of permanent lightening of the skin around the mouth after Dermabrasion. This is because all of the skin is resurfaced. The benfit of the fractional laser is that there is less downtime and virtually no risk of losing pigment around your lip because of the principle of fractional therapy (only a smaller percentage of the skin is treated).
Determining what is best for you comes down to your type of skin (color), how deep your lines are, and your expectations. Consulting with a phyisician who has experience in both is your best bet to determine what is best for you.